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We plan our meals around what is on sale at Harris Teeter. I find it cheaper for what I buy usually than Publix. Public bakery is far superior. Never had a problem with Meat at Harris Teeter. It's also 1 minute away so I don't even look at the Publix ad, but they seem to have good bogo deals
Well, it will take some prep time every week, but there are ways to save
>My husband is not one for running store to store for a few things that are on sale - he says we waste as much gas doing that
We are spoiled in N. MtP by the density of stores that are available for comparison shopping. Starting at Publix Park West, you can visit the CVS at 41/17, BI-LO at IOP/17, Target at IOP/Rifle Range, Harris-Teeter at 6Mile/17, Boone Hall Farm on 17, Walgreens at 41/17, and Wal-Mart at Oakland/17, and get back to Publix and put less than 10 miles on the car.
> We can start clipping coupons, but that's not going to amount to much.
That depends on how many National Brand products you purchase. Harris-Teeter has double-coupons and occasionally has "super doubles" where they will double up to $2. coupons. I weekly reference southernsavers.com that matches sale prices with available coupons for each store's current sales. You can also sign up for Harris Teeter's VIC program, and if you provide an email address, they will send you an email with extra specials late in the week. If you do any shopping at Target, you can sign up for the Cartwheel program that can also provide extra percent-off savings. We use Proctor & Gamble products (Charmin/Bounty/Tide/Downy), so we have registered at pgeveryday.com to get the best coupons (another good site would be coupons.com)
>We buy our paper products - paper towels, toilet paper, etc. at Walmart.
If we don't pick these up at our monthly Costco/Home Depot/Food Lion run (reeeaaaaallly looking forward to Costco's MtP warehouse - 38c/gal difference in gas prices(!)), we wait for the frequent Target sales where they'll give you a gift card for buying a certain amount.
> Is Publix just outrageously priced?
Except for the BOGO sales, the bakery & the bran flakes, we've found consistently better prices for packaged goods at WalMart, H-T, and Target.
One other tip - if you buy (non-perishable) products that seem to be only available at Walgreens, ALWAYS buy it online and have it shipped free to the store. We seem to be paying an automatic 10% extra (retail) for the privilege of living in MtP.
So they say that grocery stores have items on 12 week cycles -- they say that things will go on sale once every 12 weeks. I don't find it is that scripted but yes -- you can find things on sale on a regular basis and stock up on dried goods when they are on sale.
Publix BOGO can be good for those things .
Harris Teeter has boneless skinless chicken breast always for 1.99 at their butcher counter. I buy that or wait until they have sales on the packaged stuff.
Costco is a big plus for red meat and things like rib. Usually you can find those on sale. I haven't found Publix sales on meat and poultry that great but Harris Teeter can have a good buy. I buy the pork shoulder -- huge one -- cut some up for some souvlaki....leave some whole for 'pulled pork' in the slow cooker.
When they have their whole beef tenderloin on at 10.00 or 11.99 pound I will buy a whole one. The butcher at the Six Mile Harris Teeter will trim the tenderloin (ask them to grind up the trimmings for you to add to inexpensive ground beef for spaghetti sauce, hamburgers, etc....fatty and full of flavor). I then get one good size roast and a few filets. Can't beat that for 10.00. The meat is so rich you don't need much of it.
Harris Teeter has wild caught cod for 5.99 often (or they use to -- I've been using the fishing CSA so don't fish much any more from HT). Even their wild caught salmon can well under 9.99 ...sometimes 6.00.
Aldi's prices are okay but the last time I went all the veggies were tired and old and not worth it.
Trader Joe's is fun to go to -- it's not that expensive for their produce and it is usually decent quality. I do like some of their meat/poultry products but they aren't cheap. I find their yogurt to be a decent price and I love it. Good cheese, good wine, good prices.
Walmart.....nothing wrong with their basic produce for the most part. Unless you have a 'thing' about them -- they are worth trying to get all your staples -- flour, sugar, bread, eggs, milk, blah blah blah.......
There are coupon sites to help with finding the best price on goods given the coupons in circulation. This was always one of my faves. https://www.couponmom.com/ I'll be honest -- I don't use too many name brands so it is rare for me to find that big deal (especially with just two of us). I buy lots of things like paper towels, toilet paper, napkins, tooth paste, etc. at Costco.
I have started comparing shopping online. Walmart, Costco, Amazon -- everybody is ready to ship to you. Check to see if some of your fave brands are available and what the pricing is like.
I just asked my Chief Financial Officer (and DW) what our monthly Food Bill looks like. She estimates around $500 for the 3 of us. Now, we Dine Out quite often, and we're not shy about asking for a box for any leftovers. She also doesn't do the Coupon thing to it's maximum either.
But we do look for Sales on the good cuts of meat, and buy enough to keep the Freezer well stocked. Teeter's, Publix and Walmart get most of our business. I don't run out to get the BOGO sales....I'm not convinced there's a big savings there.
I'm not a big fan of the Publix Bakery, although other folks love it. We can get most of our Bakery stuff at the outlets -- in our house it doesn't last long enough to get stale !!
Aldi's an Bi-Lo are a no-go.....they're not even on our list.
Does anybody go for that Gas Credit card deal at Publix ??
The Mt P Tax is not an exaggeration. You do pay extra to live on that side of the Bridge.
When did Publix create a gas credit card program? It does not have a loyalty card program. It has not operated fuel centers and convenience stores in four years since divesting 14 Publix PIX locations in 2013.
Original coupon and single transaction for at least $50 of groceries, excluding phone and gift cards, alcohol, tobacco, lottery items, money services, postage stamps, and prescriptions, required for each deal. Original coupon and gas card must be presented when purchasing $50 of groceries. Publix accepts only one minimum purchase coupon for every minimum grocery purchase, meaning minimum purchase coupons cannot be combined. Customer is responsible for all applicable taxes. Activation fees may apply to gas cards; see gas card terms for details.
Is the original coupon digital only and must be printed out?
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